Sinker fed hosiery machine



Oct. 19 1926. 1,603,774

K. HOWIE: v SINKER FED HOSIERY MACHINE Original Filed July 26 192 II x 5 a H a b I g C I Inuenior:

Jfn 62% Mwz e,

Patented (lot. 19, 1926,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE..,

IZLENNETH lPF-LGVJIE, E NORRISTOVI-N, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR 'lOV/ILDMAN MFG. (30., OF NORRISTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, A-COEPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

SINKER FED HOSIERY IVIIACHINE.

Application filed July 26, 1923, Serial The invention concerns more particularly hosiery knitting machines in which, when heel and toe work is being done, the instep needles are elevated to idle position.

One object of the present invention is to employ measuring sinker-s to cooperate with the needles to. measure loop lengths of the yarn fed thereto, and the invention includes means whereby, when these needles. are elevated to their idle plane, they will also assume a position. at their upper portions inside. of the normal needle circle, and thus out of range of the measuringsinkers which, therefore, will not sink the yarn between the idle needles when said sinkers advance.

The invention also includesleatures and combinations and arrangement of parts here ina'lter described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view o t'a needle cylinder ota hos ery machine, with the needles, measuring sink'ers and needle beard pressers, and the supportingring for the latter in place at one side of the cylinder, these element-s being omittedat theopposite side of the cylinder.

Fig. 1' is a view similar to Fig.- 1, withidle needle shown in full lines.

Fig, 2 shows the idle needle and measuring sinker, the latter-being in retracted position at the point where the yarn is about to be drawn nto the iabrieby the activeneedlje,

Fig, 3 is a view of the needle,

dis a view of a combined measuring. sinker and web holder.

Fig. is a view of. the needle beard presser.

In these drawings, the needle cylinder 1' may he of anyordinary construction, it be ng slotted for guiding the needles, and it is also slotted at its upper edge, or stitch ringportion 2, for guiding the web-holders and measuring sinkers; The needles are oper as in ordinarypractice, by jacks S havbutts 4-. to engage the cams. uring sinkers 5 have butts 6 to be engaged by cams, as in ordinary practice, by which the sinkers are reciprocated.

The needles, which are of spring beard type, areprovidedswith a bend or shoulder the point a, this bent portion of the stem extending upwardly and inwardly in respect to the vertical axis of the needle cylinder, at an inclination. This bend or incline is The meas- No; 653,960. Renewed March 19, 1926.

located at some distance below the needle beard, and in'the normaloperation of knittzngits range of vertical movement is such that the stem above this beard will hnd abearing on the cylinder below the upper edge olthe stitch ring portion thereof.

The normal'raised position of the needle for knitting is indicated at b, it being ob,-

served, as just stated, that the stem above this inclined shoulder is guided against the cylinder. movement, as in ordinary needle groove walls. and bearingon the stems of the'needles, as showni This rieedle'per ior'm's the knitting operation substantially in the ordinary manner. When, however, these" the spring band'or bands '7, which, pressing upon the'lower portion ofthe needle stem, will. force the needleinwardly so that its upper portion will stand well with n the normal plane oi'j action of the needle, as in- 'dioated in dotted lines at c, (Fig; 1). The

measuring sinker is shown inIFigL' 1 in its extreme inward position, where it would s nk the yarn between the needles wien in the normal knitting circle represented by the needle 6. It will be noticed, however, that this extreme advanced position oi the sinlr r is not far enough in towards the axis of the knitting head to sink the yarn between the needles 0, which have been advanced orelevated to their idle plane because, as above described, these idle needles, in being elevated, have been deflected from this normal idle knitting plane inwardly to stand away from the sinkers, leaving a clearance or space at m for the yarn to extend through freely from; the yarn guide eye to the selvage loop. This allows the yarn-to be properly taken up; on the =-reverse or idle portion of the stroke of the needle carrier and prevents the yarn from being sunk between the idle i needles, and thus liability of the yarn being cut by the sinkers on the idle needles, is avoided.

The needle is restrainec'lin its practice, by spring bands 7, located in a groove 8 formed in thelUU The inward deflection of the needle will be due to the pull of the fabric well as to the pressure from the spring bands.

I show, in Fig. 2, the relation of the measuring sinker and the leading idle needle at the knitting point where the yarn is drawn into the fabric by the active needle and off from the nose of the sinker. 'lhis sinker is in retracted position and its nose lies slightly inside the circle defined by the outer faces of that portion of the needle stems lying at or below the bend thereof, or. in other words, the sinker is retracted at this point just farenough to allow theyarn for the new loop to be drawn down across its nose without straining. From the selvage loop the yarn now extends to the yarn guide through the space 50 between the head portion 9 of the sinker and the part of the de.

flected needles above the bend or shoulder, and despite the fact that' it lies in front of those sinkers which are advanced in the region between the stitch point and the yarn guide, these sinkers will not bend it between the stems of the idle needles because the lat ter stand deflected inwardly,as above stated. Nor will sinking take place on the idle needles on the reverse stroke.

On each stroke 01" the machine in either direction, a needle is added to the idle set by being picked up to its idle plane in substantially the ordinary manner, excepting that this needle in the present invention, in joining the idle set is deflected inwardly, as described, at an inclination at its upper end. Its inclined bend or shoulder, when raised to this idle position, has its lower end sub stantially in the horizontal plane of the nose of the sinker so that as the yarn extending from the selvage loop wraps around this idle needle, on its passage by the yarn feeding point, it will lay over this shoulder and extend back to the yarn feed eye and in front of the measuring sinkers, so that as the active needles, which are in the normal needle circle, approach the stitch point and with the sinkers advancing in the region between the stitch point and the yarn feed eye, the yarn will be bent or sunk between these active needles, the yarn resting in the notch of the sinker head 9 during this sinking action and during the pressing of the needle beards. 'This action just described, of the yarn wrapping around the trailing idle needle, will define the-line of, and make, a straight gore, the yarn being prevented from becoming trapped under the nose of the sinker, but always wrapping around the trailing idle needle. At the yarn teed linger the sinkers are retracted to'aitord a free space for the reversal of the direction of the yarn leading off from the guide eye, first on one side and then on the other, as the machine reciprocates.

The measuring sinker and web holder are shown in one piece, but I do not limit myself in this particular.

I claim I. In a circular knitting machine for making hosiery, measuring sinkers, acedi o having bent portions or shoulders in their stems which, when the needles are elevated to their idle plane in the formation of heel and toe work, will ride over the up per edge of the needle cylinder to assume a position 7F within the normal needle circle and out o1; the range of the sinkers, thus to prevent the yarn from being sunk between these iLlle needles, substantially as described.

2. In a circular knitting machine for making hosiery, measuring sinkers, needles having bent portions or shoulders in their stems which, when the needles are elevated to their idle plane in the formation of heel and toe work, will ride over the upper edge of the needle cylinder to assume a position within the normal needle circle and out of the range of the sinkers, thus to prevent the yarn from being sunk between these idle needles, and a spring band for exerting pres sure upon the needle stein in a direction towards the center of the machine, substantially as described.

8. In a circular knitting machine for making hosiery, measuring sinkers, needles having bent portions or shoulders in their stems which, when the needles are elevated to their idle plane in the formation of heel and toe work, will ride over the upper ecge of the needle cylinder to assume a position within the normal needle circle and out ot the range of the sinkers, thus to prevent the yarn from being sunk between these idle needles, the sinker when retracted, having its nose at, or slightly within, the circle de fined by the portion of the stems of the idle needles lying at the lower ends of the shoulders or bent portions, substantially as de scribed.

l. In a circular knitting machine for making hosiery, a needle cylinder, needles adapted to be deflected radially inwardly within the normal needle circle when elevated to idle position. in the making oi the heel and toe, and means for so deflecting the said needles when in said idle position to be out of range of the sinkers, thus to prevent the yarn from being sunk between these idle needles, substantially as described,

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

KENNETH HOVJIE. 

